Eternal War
by WitchOfDarkness13
Summary: Sequal to Eternal Livingroom. War is on the horizon in both the Netherworld and on Earth. And stuck between both sides are the Potters and their patch quilt family.
1. Chapter 1

_BANG!_

A goblet on the table goes flying off the edge, spilling its contents, but neither men at the table pay attention to it.

"Damn it all! Salazar, you were my brother! In all ways but blood!" a man in battle armor with a red and gold cape shouts, "Why did you have to betray me like that?"

The man has the appearance of a lion, red hair flowing away thick like a mane, only adding to the appearance. His face is twisted in anger and betrayal. Amber eyes shining in the dark of the room. He has a sword on his side and a wand in a hip holster. Godric Gryffindor, dressed to the hilt for battle, as always.

Opposite him sits a man who looks as far from a fighter as can be, yet he could prove just as deadly an opponent as Gryffindor. Salazar Slytherin, in robes of emerald with silver and black trim, plays with his wand on the table, his face closed off of emotion. His black hair isn't greased back in the fashion of the current generation, he would kill before doing that, but let loose around his face, casting shadows on it.

"I only did that because I had to. You know what had happened a few months before," Slytherin says, voice low, "It was terrifying times for us. It wasn't betrayal, I had explained everything to you beforehand, and you ignored me."

"I trusted you, and you gave your word you would stay with us," Gryffindor's voice lowers, "We'd be a family for life."

Slytherin closes his eyes, "I had to go protect my home. I had to protect what was left. Besides, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were already starting to go against me. They didn't like that I was teaching Dark Arts along with Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Yeah," Gryffindor snorts, "They said it would confuse the children."

"Hey, I warned them before class even began," Slytherin mutters, "Besides, you three did well enough without me."

Gryffindor raises an eyebrow at Slytherin, "Are you kidding? Ravenclaw went psychotic after you left. She would hardly leave her tower. And Hufflepuff took over the school."

Slytherin chuckles, shaking his head.

"Why can't we stay here forever?" Gryffindor asks, "Why do we have to go out there and fight?"

"Because," Slytherin says, "That choice was made for us long ago. You made that decision when you threw the first hex." Slytherin gives a smirk, "You always did have an awful temper."

Gryffindor rolls his eyes, "Please, like you're not as bad. Goddess knows how many times you scared the poor muggle-borns when you went into a temper and things started flying."

With that one statement, the air draws tightly between the two. Any sort of camaraderie that had sprung up between them is sucked away, leaving one furious and the other saddened.

"You know what? Never mind," Gryffindor mutters, "I'm glad you left. I'm glad that you betrayed us, betrayed me. I'm glad that you showed your true colors. Because if you hadn't, I wouldn't have realized how evil you can be, how sadistic and cruel. You're no brother of mine."

Slytherin sighs and stands from the table. He walks toward the door, but stops just shy of leaving, "That may be what you feel, but you'll always be my little brother 'Dric."

**Grey Region- Netherworld  
James's POV**

I glance around, biting my lip and wondering at the odd feeling I'm gathering from here. It's like being hit with a continuous low rate shock hex. The hairs on the back of my neck are standing right up and I feel slightly uneasy. I can tell that Lily feels the same way, but that she isn't saying anything. She doesn't want to alert Regulus that we're feeling slightly amiss. He had warned us that something like this would happen. Said that it is because we have light oriented cores. Of course, being in an area where a lot of grey magic users reside will make us slightly uncomfortable. I wonder if Regulus had felt like this when we were on the light side of the Netherworld?

Regulus appears again, holding a bag that smells like fresh baked bread. Even though we, technically, don't have to eat, old habits are hard to break. Plus eating does actually give us energy.

"Took a bit of convincing, but I managed to get the baker to give us an extra loaf," Regulus says.

"How'd you do that?" Lily asks.

I smirk, "Knowing the Black Brother charm like I do, it's best not to ask that question."

Lily frowns, "You didn't?"

"Didn't what? They didn't need it, I just convinced the store girl that we would be a better cause than the rubbish bin," Regulus says, tearing a bit from his loaf, "Besides, if we're going to survive, you'd best get used to it."

Lily huffs, tearing her bread into tiny pieces before eating it. She's not used to people getting what's not rightfully theirs, or not going through proper channels. I shrug slightly before just biting into the bread.

"So," I swallow my food, "where are we heading to?"

Regulus holds up a finder then casts a spell around the area that we're standing in. Nodding he turns back to me. "We're going to visit an old friend of mine. A previous Ravenclaw by the name of Marcus Plithy. He was a near expert in potions, not as good as Severus mind you, but he had a talent in his own right. The man was a neutral in the old war and should be willing to help us now. I'm not entirely sure as to what is causing the sudden upheaval of the scales, but until we can find out, he'll be able to help us."

"How do you know that he'll help?" Lily asks.

"He's a good guy and an old friend," Regulus says, "It also doesn't hurt that he's scared of me and owes me a favor."

I laugh, "That would do it. Come on, let's get moving."

**On Earth  
Sirius's POV**

I glance at the moon, waning gibbous, and sigh. Something was happening, something was starting to awaken the darker spirits. That was one thing that living in the House of Black gave all its inhabitants, a sixth sense for darker magics and whatnot. Living in Azkaban didn't help much either. Still, on a night so clear and serene, one would think that it would be peaceful, but I can feel something at the edge. Something that is not pleased with how nice everything is, that wants to destroy it.

"Sirius, what are you doing up? Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

Turning around, I smile at Remus, "Shouldn't you? I know that you tend to sleep like the dead for the first few days after a moon."

Remus shrugs, "I don't know. Something's keeping me up. Your insomnia bothering you again?"

"A little."

"Or is it something else?"

I frown and raise an eyebrow at the tawny haired werewolf. He just places his hands in the front pockets of his trousers and waits. I hate it when he does that.

"It's nothing to worry about."

"Oh really? Is that why you started checking the wards today?"

Sighing I glance back at the sky, "I've got a really bad feeling Remus. Really bad."

"Seventh year prank gone wrong bad or leaving for an Auror mission bad?"

"Halloween night bad."

Remus sighs and stands next to me, observing the stars as well. I know that we're both worried about how things are going to affect Harry. He's finally starting to trust us both completely and has really opened up to us. He's an amazing kid, and I don't want to see him get hurt. Unfortunately, his Hogwarts letter is going to arrive in another few months and after he leaves for school there isn't going to be any way for Remus or me to be close to the boy without arising suspicion.

"What about the Shack?" Remus asks.

I raise an eyebrow at him.

"For when Harry goes to Hogwarts. Why not use the Shack?"

"Because for one, last I knew you hate it there. Two, do you remember the state of the place? And three, how in Merlin's fuzzy left nut are we going to get in there without alerting Dumbledore? In case you don't remember, I'm kind of a wanted criminal."

"I don't hate the Shack. Some of the memories of the place, yes, the actual building itself, no. Yes, I remember the state of the Shack, especially since I caused a lot of the damage. Do you remember handy little devices called wands? And as for getting in without alerting Dumbledore, are you a Marauder or not?"

Thinking about the idea for a bit, I can see where it would be a good idea and where it would have its flaws. I also know that said flaws would have been taken care of already by the in residence genius. This would be helpful, not only for our sanity in being able to stay close to Harry, but also for Harry in being able to keep in contact with us. The kid is kind of clingy at the moment, but with what he went through it's understandable. It's too bad that Harry won't talk with us about what happened to him while he stayed at Number Four, but a few good guesses can be made based upon how he acts.

Sighing, I run a hand through my hair, "Fine, we'll do it."

Remus nods and turns around to walk back inside, "Come and get some sleep Sirius."

"I'll be inside in a moment."

As Remus walks away, I think about the problems that are going to arise and wonder when the dam holding everything back is going to break. I feel a pulse of dark energy again as I walk toward the door of Potter mansion and frown slightly. Hopefully, we'll all be able to ride out the coming storm.

As I lock the door, I notice some of the shadows moving in an unnatural way, almost detaching themselves from where they're supposed to be. I can't stop myself from growling and glare at them.

_"Leave us alone."_

The shadows still and I frown before turning on my heel and walking up to my room.

**Grey Region- Netherworld  
Regulus's POV**

Walking through the shadows in the alley, I find myself wondering what in the world could have caused this war to start. Of course, people would say that it started because people were tired of good and evil, or any of the other typical things, but there has to be something else. Something that would unbalance everything.

"But what could cause it? It had to have been something recent. Something that happened within the past few days in the Netherworld, or within a few years on Earth. And it has to be something big. Something that would garner attention," I mutter. James and Lily are doing research into something or another that the quick witted red head came up with. As I start turning into another alley, I see men in dark red and gold robes walking along it toward my direction. They stop a slightly older looking Egyptian wizard and hold up a parchment with a picture of Lily, James, and myself on it. I duck back into the alley and frown in thought. A quick glance to my left and right reveals similar troops doing the same basic search.

"Well fuck." I can't see a way out of this without being caught by any of the parties, and yet I get the feeling that scaling the wall and running across the rooftops would not be very discreet. "Come on, think, think…Regulus, what can you do to get yourself out of this?"

I take a breath and step back to allow a crone to walk by. I grab the large cloth that is hanging out of her basket and hold it behind my back while a man passes by. He drops a couple of bags, one of which splits upon impact.

"Here, let me help," I offer, stooping down to pick up the assortment of items which had started rolling and bouncing away.

He smiles, "Thank you. I thought that I'd make it home in time before it split, and of course it splits when I'm no more than a block off."

I laugh, "Isn't that how it always is?"

As he walks away, I put on the second hand cloak that had been stuffed in the bottom of one bag and fasten it. I then wrap the cloth around my head like a scarf, being sure to cover my nose and mouth, before putting on the hood. A quick glamour upon the eyes makes certain that I have no easily distinguishable features showing and I walk to the exit of the alleys. If I can make it to a main street, then I should be able to make better time to where I'm supposed to meet Lily and James, hopefully in time to stop them from being caught.

One of the searchers stops me.

"Excuse me, sir, have you seen any of these people?" he asks.

"Que voulez-vous? Laissez-moi être.," I say, trying to push past.

The man places a hand up, "Do you speak English?"

"Non, je ne pas, maintenant laissez-moi tranquille!" I snap, successfully pushing past him, muttering curses under my breath.

"I hate Frenchmen," the man mutters.

"Vous pouvez, mais votre mère n'a pas," I say, loud enough for him to hear. When I hear him turn to his partners and ask if they knew what I had said, I have to stop myself from laughing and hurry to find the Potters. Things are getting dangerous and it's time to run to ground.

_**AN- Hey everyone! Finally got a full chapter written for the sequal of Eternal Livingroom. I kept getting hung up on a few things. Anyway, if the french is wrong that is because I don't speak it (yet) and had to use google translate. Translations for it are below.**_

_**Que voulez-vous? Laissez-moi être.- What do you want? Let me be.  
Non, je ne pas, maintenant laissez-moi tranquille!- No, I do not, now leave me alone!  
Vous pouvez, mais votre mère n'a pas.- You can, but your mother does(has) not.**_


	2. Thief and Drunk

"What do you mean?" Lily asks.

I raise an eyebrow, "What do you think I mean?"

"No, I don't like it. Not one bit! Last time we broke in somewhere, you ended up going to Azkaban. There has to be some other way for us to find out how these screen things work," Lily says. She stands and starts pacing.

I frown and glance at James, trying to get him to see that I would like his help in this. He shrugs at first then motions for me to wait while he talks with Lily. They go to a different room and I can hear their voices murmuring as they speak. They don't understand that things are getting bad. Really bad. A sound from one of the temporary screens pulls me from my musings.

**"Hey Remus, why's Sirius moping?" Harry asks, placing a recently dried plate onto a pile of other clean plates with a slight **_**clink**_**.**

** Remus chuckles, "He's not moping. Well, not exactly. Something's just been bothering him for a while, and when that's added to his insomnia, and that is added to what date it is, he's going to be a bit moody."**

** "Kind of like how you were moody last week?" Harry asks.**

** "What do you mean?" Remus asks. Of course, that Harry has started putting dishes away means that he doesn't see that Remus has gone slightly pale.**

I chuckle, "Yes, what on Earth do you mean? Remus moody around the full moon? Never! Perish the thought!"

"And you claim your brother the dramatic one!" Potter One and Two simultaneously shout from the other room.

I roll my eyes.

**Harry shrugs, "Nothing much. You just tend to get moody around the full moon. I understand. I know one of my old neighbors was affected by it as well."**

** "They were?"**

I raise an eyebrow. What would a werewolf be doing on Privit Drive?

**"Yeah, she was an older lady. Always would walk out on nights of the full moon and sing to her flowers. Funny thing is that she never remembered doing such the next day," Harry says.**

** Remus chuckles, "I can assure you that singing is the last thing on my mind on a full moon."**

** "Well I'd hope so, I've heard your singing voice."**

"Remus singing? Dear Merlin, save us all," James says as he walks into the room, Lily trailing him like a pouting child.

I smirk and turn back to the screen.

**"So what's so important about today?" Harry asks.**

** Remus sighs, "Today is Sirius's brother's birthday."**

My smirk falls and I stare at the screen, blinking.

**"Sirius has a brother?"**

** "He did. Regulus died two years before you were born. He was two years below us at school. Very intelligent, cunning as a snake, which is fitting considering his House, and cautious as his brother is reckless," Remus says, "Unfortunately, I do not know much about him. If you want to know more, you'd have to ask Sirius."**

** Harry nods, "I may do that, sometimes talking about something helps, right?"**

** Remus smiles, "Right. Now, I will finish the dishes. Run off and play or something."**

** Harry laughs, barely dodging a spray of suds flicked from the tawny haired werewolf.**

Swallowing, I turn from the screen and frown at the other two who are watching. "I don't care what you say, I'm going into that Hall, and I'm going to find out how these things are made and any other bits of information that I can about them."

"Agreed. And I'm going with, that's the only way you're getting near that place," James says.

"Fine."

James turns to Lily and says good-bye. The two of us grab our cloaks and step out into the night.

**James's POV**

After we're a few blocks away I turn to Regulus, "This isn't the way to the Hall of Prophets."

"No it isn't. But you can't expect to find what we're looking for in the Hall of Prophets," Regulus says. He turns to me and smiles, "No, we're going somewhere better."

"Better how?"

"Trust me."

I frown, but don't say anything further. Trusting the young Black is far easier than I would have ever admitted on Earth, but then again, I didn't really know him when we both were alive. And even with his troubled past, I know that there's something going on. He's thinking twelve steps ahead. Playing the chess board. And with people such as Gryffindor and Slytherin and Dumbledore playing the field as well, I know that it's a good thing to have multiple chess masters on our side. He doesn't want to just get the instructions for the monitoring screens, there's something else that he wants to snag. I can only hope that whatever it is won't get the two of us caught and sent to jail.

Regulus stops and turns to me, "All right, here we are. I know what I'm looking for, so there's no need for both of us to try and steal it. What I'm going to need is someone to act as a distraction. Being a Marauder, I don't think that you'll have any problems causing a scene."

"Of course not!" I grin, "The only question is how much of a scene?"

"Enough that all the people in this general location will come running."

I nod, "As you wish."

Regulus smirks and takes off toward a back alley. I glance around the area before shrugging and summoning a bottle of firewhiskey. Lily would kill me if she knew what I was doing. And if we weren't already dead. Taking some of the whiskey, I splash some of it on my neck, behind my ears, and a little in my hair. I sip from the bottle and gurgle it before swallowing.

"Forgot how much of a kick that stuff has," I mutter. Shrugging, I stumble out to the middle of the street in front of the hall. "Hey! HEY! Where's…where's my stuff? YOU! YOU took it didn't you?"

People stop and stare, but no one comes any closer, which isn't good. I need a crowd.

"I need my stuff! It's bad enough that life took my bastard!" I give a giggle and take a swig from the bottle, letting the liquid touch my lips but not drinking any, "That's not right. I mean, it's bad enough that BASTARD took my LIFE!"

People slowly start to come closer, including a pair of security guards. Hopefully this place doesn't have any laws about being drunk and disorderly. I walk over to a woman and throw my arm around her.

"But you know what? You want to know something? I don't care. I have you lovely f-folks! So let's party!" I giggle again. Flicking my wand at a box, music starts to pour from it. I step away from the woman, "I love this song, come on and dance with me!"

I pull the same woman into a dance, keeping myself sloppy enough to be drunk, but also being careful so as not to step on her toes. I spin her off into another man and grab one of the security guards and start dancing with him.

"You-you know, you're not as pretty as my last par-partner," I say before laughing. I take another pretend sip of my drink and on the next step stumble a little, spilling some of the whiskey, "Al-alcohol ab-buse!"

By this time, the crowd has gathered rather nicely, but I can still tell that there are some security guards in the building. I giggle again and turn to the crowd, "Wha-what we need is," giggle, "FIREWORKS!"

Aiming my wand at the sky, I send up various fireworks, including a couple that sound like a cannon sent them up. This causes many more people to run over and see what the commotion is about. I start sending up sparkles and streamers and balloons.

"Sir! Sir you need to stop with the fireworks or we will have to take you in," one of the guards says.

"Take-take me in? I'm no stray," I giggle. Turning to the man I place a hand on his forehead, "Sir, you are doing a won-wonderful job! Continue on sir good!"

"Ok, I think you've had enough to drink," Regulus says, grabbing me around the waist and throwing one of my arms over his shoulders.

"HEY! Hey, everyone, look! It's the Little King!" I say, laughing at the end.

Regulus sighs, "Yes, it's me. Now can you give me the bottle?"

"No!"

"I'm not going to throw it away, I just want to see it."

"Ok!" I hand him the bottle. While he's pouring it out and apologizing to some of the guards, I turn to a woman and stage whisper, "He likes looking at bottles, he thinks the glass is pretty!"

She nods, looking half amused half sympathetic.

Regulus hands me the empty bottle, "Here you go, come on, let's get you home."

"HOME! Home with the strange, where you al-always have someone to blame! A-a-a-a-a-and never is heard, a dis-discourag-ing word, and-d-d-d-d the wolves play Par-cheesi all day!"

Regulus is dragging me away while I'm singing my ballad, and I can tell that he's trying not to burst into laughter. After we're a few blocks away we finally just start laughing like a couple of hyper first years.

"That was perfect!" Regulus says between his laughing.

I finally manage to stop laughing, but still have a huge grin on my face, "Did you get it?"

Regulus nods and shows me a couple of rolls of parchment hidden in his jacket, "Come on, we'd best get back before Lily decides to kill me."

"You mean us."

"No, I mean me. If she hasn't killed you by now, she's not going to."

I smile and shrug. We're walking back toward our hideout when this woman comes running up to Regulus.

"Mr. Regulus, I need help!" she says.

"Kristi? What's wrong?" Regulus asks, all humor from minutes before forgotten.

Kristi is breathing rather hard and swallows a few times before answering, "They blew up my bar! I can't believe that they blew it up. And there was no warning beforehand. Most of my patrons made it out, but a few were caught in the blast. I don't know what to do."

Regulus's face has grown dark and he nods, "Very well. Kristi, come with us, you can stay for a few hours while I contact a friend for you to stay with."

She nods and gives a sniffle.

Regulus and I share a look. This is getting serious.

"Kristi, might I ask who blew up your bar?" I ask.

She turns to me with a slight sniffle and shrugs slightly, "It was a mix of people, but they all were wearing blue cowls. Workers for Ravenclaw."

Regulus groans and runs a hand through his hair, "Ravenclaw is now working in this? Great!"

"Somehow I can't imagine Hufflepuff sticking to the sidelines either," I mutter.

"Hufflepuffs? Really?" Kristi asks.

"Their house traits are loyal, hardworking, and fair. Do any of those words sound like 'nice' or 'nonviolent'?" I ask, "Trust me, do not mess with the 'Puffs."

**AN- Hi everyone! Thank you for the reviews and other jib jab. This is one of my favorite chapters just because of having James be "drunk" in it. I'm not sure when I'm going to have another chapter up, especially as I'm writing this and putting it up right after editing, but hopefully it'll be soon. **


	3. Apropriating the Right Book

**Regulus's POV**

After we get Kristi settled down and my friend stops yelling my ear off, James and I finally manage to make it back to where we're staying and both collapse onto a couch. I sigh and tap the arm of it with my fingers, thinking over the problems that I know are going to arise and not even knowing who is pulling the strings. Why would any of the founders start fighting now? After having peace for so long in the Netherworld, it doesn't make any sense.

"Reg, could you stop the drumming?" James asks, "It's going to make me insane."

I grin, "Sorry, but you're already there mate."

James just gives me a half-hearted glare before smiling when Lily enters the room. I roll my eyes and look away, giving the two lovebirds some resemblance of privacy. My eyes land on the new screen that we have up, and I smirk as I watch Remus end up with confetti in his hair courtesy of a green eyed Marauder in training.

"Ok, so what did you grab, Regulus?" Lily asks.

I pull a couple of rolls of parchment from my cloak and lay them on the table. "Information about the screens."

Lily pulls one of the scrolls over and begins to read, emerald eyes flashing across the page.

"What else did you steal? I know that you wouldn't go there just for these, would you?" James asks.

I shrug, "Sometimes the simple things are what's needed the most."

James raises an eyebrow and waits.

"If you're expecting me to start telling you everything I have planned you have another thing coming," I say, "There are some things that need to be thought over before I tell you and I haven't had time to think just yet. So I will leave you and Lily with the scrolls and I will go to think. Be good and remember not to get caught. If you are, I don't know what will happen and I'm not in the mood to plan a rescue mission."

Lily's eyes narrow and her lips purse in an eerily similar way as Professor McGonagall, "Regulus Black, if you end up in trouble because of whatever moronic idea you have planned, I will make anything that you've ever did for detention at Hogwarts look like play time!"

"Oh really?"

"If you doubt me, just ask James or Remus or Sirius," she growls.

I hold my hands up in an 'I surrender' position, "I believe you, I believe you. I won't get into trouble. At least not without you or James with me to help."

She watches me for a moment before nodding.

I nod and then stand and leave the room. I need to visit some people, and I don't want either of them following me. If this whole plan breaks apart, I don't want them caught in the middle. They're too good of people for that.

Grabbing my cloak, I put it on, throwing the hood over my head. I leave the house and glance at the sky. I do a double take when I notice that there are really dark thunder clouds in the sky. It doesn't rain here. And if it does, then it isn't a thunderstorm. So what's up with the weather? I shake my head and start walking, keeping my head down. I have some people to see and really don't want to have to avoid Aurors or any of the other people prowling around the area.

Slipping through the shadows, I glance above me and frown again at the thunder clouds. Why would there suddenly be a change in the weather? What does it mean? I have a feeling that is has something to do with the sudden war like atmosphere around here, but there has to be something more. Something that all of us are missing. I finally arrive at the house that I have been looking for and give a smirk. Of course they would keep it the same as it was on Earth. Though I wonder if the floors creak in the same spots they do on Earth?

I open the door and sneak in, feeling the dark magic timidly find me and test to see if I am who it thinks I am. Luckily for me, this version of the family magic will be much more…childlike…than the version at home. What's in Grimmauld place has had years to become more vicious, and had I been alive and had I tried this trick on Earth, it would have surely torn me to pieces. After the magic starts to wind around me, I pull it in and allow my personal magic to take dominance. At least now the house won't give me away and I'll have a decent chance at getting what I want and getting out. I smirk and climb the stairs, automatically avoiding the ones that creak too loudly. Once I'm on the right floor, I walk to the library and enter the room, closing the door behind me with barely any noise.

"All right," I mutter, "Time to find that book and get out."

Knowing the type of book I'm looking for and how valuable father would consider it, I immediately walk to the back of the library and wave my hand at the silver plated family crest that hangs there. It glows momentarily before showing the different wards. I don't want to leave any sign that I've been here so instead of doing the simple thing, I start constructing a small hole in the wards that'll let me be able to reach in and grab the book.

I bite my lip as I work. Warding is one of the things that I really understand. They just seem to do what I tell them. At any rate, I'm far better at them than anyone else I know, living or dead. After a few moments, I grin and sneak my hand in to grab the book, which is the only one behind the wards. After I sneak it out, I close the door that I'd opened and allow the family crest to hide the wards again. I smirk and turn around to leave, coming face to face with, naturally, Orion and Walburga.

"Damn it…" I mutter.

"Watch your tongue! No son of mine will speak with such filthy language," Walburga says.

I shrug, "_Congratulations_, none of your sons use that horrid word anyway. Not since they learned what it means and how it hurts people, anyway."

Walburga bristles at the comment and I have to fight back a smirk. Instead I just walk past them, my back straight and hope that they'll let me be long enough to leave. When that seems to work, I start to relax. And that's when the door in front of me shuts. I slowly turn around, gathering my magic around me and deciding if I should fight back or make a quick escape. At the sight of Orion and Walburga simultaneously beginning to throw spells at me, I decide that an escape would be better for my health and open a window that leads to Grimmauld Place under my feet and drop through. Once I've landed on the other side I close the portal and take off at a run out of the house. If I had the energy, I'd just open another near where James, Lily, and I are staying, but as it is I know I'm barely going to be able to get to where the screens we're using are. Of course, if I can make it there without Orion or Walburga finding me, that would be fantastic.

After I'm a few blocks away from the house, I apparate to Potter Mansion and sigh. I was afraid that such a Light oriented property would turn me away, but luckily it doesn't. I'm about to leave back for the Netherworld when I see a black fluff ball run across the lawn so fast I'd thought it was flying at first. Something by me catches the things attention and sends it sprawling on the ground. After a moment or two, it runs toward me, and the closer it gets, the more I realise that it's a dog. The dog stops in front of me and tilts its head. A second later and my brother is standing in front of me, his head tilted in the same way as the dog's.

"Odd," Sirius says, "I can see you as Padfoot, but not as a human. Care to make yourself visible, or do you not have the time today?"

"Well, you great mutt, unless you can hear me, you'll have to keep turning back and forth between forms to have a conversation with me, won't you?" I drawl.

Sirius doesn't say anything, just keeps watching the area where I'm standing before chuckling, "Of course, you're not going to are you? Probably not enough energy, right? Well, if you don't mind, I have to go pack. Remus and I are leaving for the Shack tomorrow after seeing Harry off at the Platform. Yes, we'll use glamors and whatnot. I don't plan on being caught any time soon. Get some energy and pop by soon, yeah?" Sirius turns around and starts leaving before glancing over his shoulder, "And I swear, if you call me a mutt one more time, I'm going to hex you. Don't ask how, I'll figure it out."

I chuckle, "I don't doubt it brother of mine. I don't doubt it." With that I walk through the screen and into our current house, ready to explain to Lily and James what happened and hope that neither of them decide to kill me. I frown at how Gryffindor that sounds. I've been living with lions for too long.

**AN/ Hey all, sorry it's been so long, but life has been throwing me curve balls lately. Kind of annoying really. It doesn't help that I've been getting stuck on the stories I currently have in progress on ffn, but have been getting plot ideas like crazy for other stuff. Anyway, please leave a review and let me know what you think.**


	4. Approaching Hogwarts

**Harry's POV  
Earth**

"Moony! I can't find my wand, is it in the library?" I shout, hoping that we'll be able to find it. It would be kind of hard to attend a magic school without a wand. I hear Moony give a small chuckle as he walks past my room to the library. This might be easier if Sirius or Remus would use magic to pack, but they both say that they're rubbish at the spell. I shake my head and get back to putting things away when I find an old shirt from when I'd lived with the Dursleys. I sit on my bed and inspect the shirt a little more.

It's kind of hard to believe that I used to wear clothing that, even now after having Moony and Padfoot feeding me practically every other hour, is four sizes too big. Though, they'd probably fit a little better height wise. I've had a growth spurt or two since moving in with the two Marauders, and now I'm not so worried about being the shortest kid anymore. Every once in a while I feel like I'm in a dream, and that at any moment I'm going to wake up in my cupboard, but those thoughts are starting to be less and less prominent and I'm happier for it.

"Hey pup, Remmy found your wand next to the bookshelf on hexes again," Sirius says as he walks in. The man notices what I'm looking at and sighs, "Are you feeling all right? You don't have to go to Hogwarts yet if you don't want to."

I shake my head, "No, I want to go. I was just remembering. Anyway, if I don't go to Hogwarts, I'll never be able to find that map you were telling me about."

Sirius smiles, "True. Are you almost done packing? We have an hour and a half until the train leaves."

"Yeah, I'm almost done. I just have a couple of other things to shove in my trunk," I say, throwing the shirt I'm holding into the rubbish bin. Sirius nods and hands me my wand before ruffling my hair and leaving the room. He looks much healthier than when I first met him, and I'm glad. After Remus told me what happened to Sirius, he deserves a little normality.

An hour later and the three of us apparate into an alley a little ways away from Kings Cross. Luckily, Remus and Sirius already knew that this alley was safe to apparate to because they'd used it when they were kids. Sirius turns into Padfoot and twirls in a couple of circles while waiting for Remus to put on his glamor. Remus has my trunk in his pocket, which he'd shrunk and placed a lightening charm on it. We'd also decided that it would be better to have my owl, Hedwig, fly to school instead of being forced to sit in a cage on a train for however many hours. I find a compartment to sit in and Remus places my trunk where it should be before closing the door and charming the windows so no one would be able to see into them. Sirius changes into human form and stretches before smiling.

"Well pup, how are you feeling? Nervous about being sorted yet?"

I bite my lip and decide to tell them what I've been worried about, "If I end up in Slytherin, will you be mad at me?"

Remus shakes his head, "Of course not cub. Why would we be?"

"Because neither of you like Slytherins too much."

"Pup, we didn't like the Slytherins in our class for a couple of reasons. Some of those reasons are really stupid," Sirius says, "But, no matter what house you end up in we'll always love you and could never be mad."

I nod, even though I don't quite believe them. I know how they both feel about Slytherins and, honestly, I'm pretty determined not to end up in that house, even if they'd been singing praises about the serpentine house. Sirius ruffles my hair and Remus gives me a wink. As usual they both can tell what I'm thinking and I wonder if they can read minds.

"At any rate, we'll both be available for if you want to talk with us," Remus says, "You remember how to get into the Shack, right?"

I nod, "Yep. Freeze the tree using the knot at the base or, after I learn it, the immobulus spell."

"And the kitchens?"

"Down in the dungeons. Tickle the pear in the bowl of fruit."

"And Peeves?"

"Don't upset him, but offer to help him with some chaos."

"He'll eventually help you as well. Always good to have the resident poltergeist on your side."

I nod. It's amazing that after such little time with Sirius and Remus that I've taken up their penchant for pranking and whatnot. Though I would never do it to bully someone, it's a good way to make people laugh. The sound of many more voices alerts the Marauders that they are not still at Potter Manor, so Sirius turns back into a dog and Remus removes the charm from the windows. Remus and I talk for a while longer while Padfoot sticks his head out the window and sniffs the many scents in the air, barking at the owls on occasion.

"Well, come on Padfoot, we've got to get off the train as it's five to eleven," Remus says as he stands, stretching a little.

Padfoot gives a quiet bark and gives me a lick on the cheek. I instantly pull the dog into a hug.

"I'm going to miss you both," I mutters.

Padfoot gives me another lick before I let go and I give Remus a hug as well. After they're done with good-byes, Remus and Padfoot step out onto the platform and stand next to my window. The train starts to move and Padfoot follows it until he runs out of platform, barking the entire way. After they're out of sight, I sit back against the seat and sigh. This looks to be a long train ride. Pulling out a book about various charms and their uses I settle in, partially surprised that no one's come into the carriage and also kind of upset too. I was hoping that this wouldn't be a lonely ride.

Ten minutes later the door slides open and I look up. A girl with bush brown hair smiles at me.

"Excuse me, but have you seen a toad? A boy, Neville, has lost his," she says.

I shake my head, "No I haven't. Do you want help looking for it?"

The girl nods, "Thank you! It's only the two of us looking for it right now and I think that's because the other prefects think that it's a waste of time trying to look for a toad, but one would think that it's a part of their job to help the younger years to help them look for pets."

"Yeah, you'd think that," I say, blinking at how quickly the girl had spoken. Is she normally like this or is she just nervous? "My name's Harry, what's yours?"

"Hermione Granger," the girl says, "I'm muggle-born. It was so exciting finding out that I'm a witch, first in the family after all. I couldn't believe it at first until the Professor who came to talk to me actually turned into a cat. It was kind of hard to refute the possibility, much less the existence, or magic after that. What about you?"

I shrug, remembering the story that Sirius and Remus told me to use, "I was muggle raised, but my parents were both magical. I'm a little worried about not being able to do magic like any kids raised in magical homes, but I think we all start at the same place."

Hermione nods. By this time we've reached the next compartments that she's had yet to ask and while she asks the one on the right, I knock on the door to the one on the left before opening the door. I blink in surprise at the sight of all the girls in the compartment standing on their seats while three boys are crawling on the ground trying to grab something. One of the girls sees me and her eyes widen.

"Get in and close the door! We don't need it going out into the hall!" She says.

I do as she says and then ask, "Are they trying to get a toad? I know a couple of people looking for one."

Another girl scowls, "I wish it was a toad! Lee had to be an idiot-"

"Hey!" One of the boys says.

"-and let a tarantula loose!"

"A tarantula? Want me to get it?" I ask. One good thing about living in the cupboard with the Durlseys is that I'm used to handling spiders.

The girls nod extremely quickly and I kneel down, glancing under the seats.

"Katie, we don't need a firstie helping us," another boy says, still looking for the spider.

I hold back the urge to roll my eyes, a habit I'd picked up from Remus, and carefully grab the spider. I crawl back out from the seat and place it in a cardboard box on another bench. When I notice that they're still searching for the spider, I have to fight the urge to pull it back out and put it on one of their heads.

"It's already in the box," I say, causing the three boys to look at me. Two of them are identical twins with ginger hair, freckles, and blue eyes. The third boy has his hair in dreadlocks, has medium brown eyes, and looks to be extremely relieved.

"Thanks mate!" the dreadlocked boy says, "I'm Lee."

I nod, "The idiot who let the spider escape?"

Lee nods, looking very proud of himself.

The twins chuckle and the one on the right says, "I'm Fred, and this is my slightly less handsome brother George."

"Now Fred, we all know that I'm more handsome than you," the twin on the left says.

The three girls introduce themselves as Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson, and Alicia Spinnet, and all three are extremely grateful to me for putting the spider back in the box. After asking them to keep an eye out for the toad, I leave the compartment to find Hermione walking toward me from the next set of compartment, tears in her eyes.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I ask.

She sniffs, "Nothing! Nothing at all!"

I blink. Why couldn't I have had a reliable female figure in my life? "Hermione, you can tell me. Something happened, can I help?"

"No, but if you're just helping me because you feel sorry for me then you can stop!" Hermione says, her voice starting to become shrill.

"Huh? Did someone tell you that?"

She nods and points down toward the compartments she'd just left. Three boys are standing there laughing. Two of them look gigantic, but also very stupid and the last one is blonde and looks like he slicked his hair back with dog slobber.

"Well, don't listen to them, they don't know what they're talking about," I say, "I think we should try asking a prefect again, and see if they'll help us."

Hermione nods, wiping at her eyes. Acting on instinct, I grab the girl's hand and lead her down the corridor, asking the first open compartment we come to if they know where the prefects are. A girl wearing a blue and bronze tie smiles.

"I'm a prefect, how can I help you?" she asks.

"Our friend lost a toad, and we're wondering if you maybe know an easier way to find it than going from compartment to compartment," I say, "Some people around here aren't too nice."

The prefect notices Hermione's red rimmed eyes and understanding flashes across her face. She nods and pulls out her wand. "Can you tell me the name of the toad?"

"Tr-Trevor," Hermione says around a hiccup.

"_Accio Trevor_!" the prefect says, motioning with her wand. A couple of seconds later, a toad comes flying into the room, croaking its protests. She then hands me the toad, "There you go. Anything else?"

I shake my head, "No, thank you though!"

She nods and sits with her friends. Hermione and I are leaving when I turn around, "I didn't catch your name."

The prefect grins, "Penelope."

"I'm Harry, and this is Hermione. It was a pleasure meeting your Penelope," I say and then lead Hermione out of the compartment. "You know where to find Neville, right?"

Hermione nods and this time she's the one to lead me in the correct direction. We end up in a compartment that's only a couple of doors away from mine. Neville is a slightly chubby boy, but when he sees Trevor, he's ecstatic.

"I'm so glad you found him! I was worried that I'd forgotten him!" Neville says, gently placing the toad in his pocket.

"Are you the only two in your compartment?" I ask. When both of them nod, I sit down, "Well not anymore. I was the only person in the compartment I was in and that was really boring."

Neville seems to hesitate while Hermione sits down and starts chatting about various spells that she'd read about. I smile at Neville and he finally sits down. Eventually, Hermione and I manage to get Neville talking about the wizarding world and he relaxes completely. For the rest of the train ride, the three of us talk about Hogwarts and our expectations.

Then it seems like fate decides to laugh at me and Neville notices the scar on my head.

"Y-y-you're Harry Potter!?" The boy stutters.

I blink and notice that both Neville and Hermione look awestruck. "Well, yeah, but I'm not that great big hero that the books have written me as. I definitely didn't take down a werewolf when I was eight. I didn't even know about magic until this year."

"How could you not know about magic?" Hermione asks, "Surely you had some accidental magic? I know that I used to float books over to myself whenever I was bored in my room."

I shrug, "I just thought I had an overactive imagination or something."

"But-but you're Harry Potter."

"Yes, but it's not like if I snap my fingers that something will happen." I hold my hand up and snap my fingers. A moment later there's a _thunk_ on the door of the compartment and all three of us look at it with widened eyes. "Well that's a coincidence."

"Damn it Fred, I told you not to do that!" someone says from the other side of the door, "Now they know we're coming."

A moment later the door opens and it reveals the twin gingers I'd met earlier.

"Hello little firsties!" the left twin says.

"It's a pleasure to see you, or see you again in some cases."

"At any rate, we were hoping-"

"That you wouldn't mind-"

"Being helpful to-"

"A pair of poor unfortunate souls."

Hermione frowns, "What is it that you want us to do?"

The twins grin and I get the feeling that whatever it is isn't going to be good for someone.

"Nothing too horrible-"

"-At least not yet. Just be sure to get some of this," here the right twin holds out a potion bottle.

"-on yourself and the other firsties. Just a dab will do."

After living with Sirius and Remus for even the tiny amount of time that I had, I can tell that these two mean to cause trouble and chaos and so ask, "Why would you want to hurt the first years?"

The twins look appalled and speak simultaneously, "We'd never want to hurt the firsties on the first night. This is to prevent the first years from being involved in what we have planned."

Deciding to trust them, I nod and place the bottle in the pocket of my robe. The twins give their thanks and leave. Neville and Hermione seem to be a little hesitant about the whole deal, but within a few minutes we're talking about other things until the train pulls into a station and then the three of us stick close together as we leave the train.

"Firs' years! Firs' years!" someone calls. The three of us walk toward the man who's calling out for the first years and the closer we get to him, the taller he gets until he's standing at a gigantic height. I can't help but look at him with wide eyes and think about how he could squish most of the first years without much thought.

"Is tha' everyone? Alrigh' follow me," the man says and sets off in a walk that causes the rest of us to jog to keep up with him. We end up at boat docks with little wooden boats tied to the docks. The man tells us that there are no more than four people to a boat and Hermione, Neville and I sit in a boat, all three of us a little too awe struck to talk at the moment. A red haired lanky kid asks if he can sit with us and we nod.

"Hi, I'm Harry," I say, holding out my hand.

The red smiles slightly, "Ron Weasley."

"This is Hermione and this is Neville." Both of them wave when I introduce them and Ron waves back. "So what house do you think you'll be in?"

"Gryffindor," Ron says, "My entire family has been there so I'm practically ensured to follow."

I blink, "Not necessarily. A friend of my parents went into a different House than his family, and they'd been in one House for generations."

Ron shrugs, "Even if I do end up in a different House, my parents won't mind. Unless it's Slytherin, then they might disinherit me."

"Well that's not fair of them," Hermione says, "I know a lot of Dark witches and wizards have come from Slytherin, but there are also a lot of witches and wizards who haven't gone Dark. Besides, Slytherin shows a lot of good qualities that people should respect. Mind you, I want to end up in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw."

"I'll just be happy to be Sorted wherever they want to put me," Neville says.

I nod in agreement. I glance at the head of the boat then gasp when I see what's in front of us. Light up and shining against the night sky, it's windowpanes twinkling with light, stands Hogwarts. _'I'm _never_ going to forget this.'_

__**AN/ I know, a substantial update within a couple of days of the last update, shocking! Ok, so I've got three non-Eternal War things to tell ya about. First of all, I'm gonna have a poll on my profile that's about a possible new story (Yes, it's going to have my OC Annalisa Grimwood in it.), so if you've read my Glass series, please vote. Next, I'm also going to be adding, within a few days, a series of short stories that revolves around Minerva McGonagall. And finally, has anyone else read JK Rowling's new book? I'm not finished with it, but it's not too bad from what I've read so far. Anyway, thank you for reading and please review!  
**


	5. Information

**James's POV  
Netherworld**

"It's all your fault that he's willing to pull a prank! I swear James, your marauder gene is going to get my boy in trouble!" Lily says.

I sigh, knowing I won't be able to say anything to calm her down.

"Oh relax Evans, he's helping prevent the first years from being involved in the prank," Regulus says, "And don't act like you're little miss perfect prefect. You had your own fun while at Hogwarts. Or did you forget Halloween in your sixth year?"

Lily turns about as red as her hair and glares at Regulus, "I can't believe that you would stoop as low as blackmail."

"Then apparently you don't know me," Regulus says before a smirk creeps on his face.

"Black, watch it. I don't want to have to do something you'll regret," I say. When he looks at me with a raised eyebrow, I just raise my own. After a moment he laughs and nods, "Good, I don't want to have to wreck that pretty face of yours."

"Boys, enough," Lily says, "We need to start concentrating on getting information about what the two umm…armies."

Regulus nods, "I agree. I hope you realise that this means we're definitely going to be in the line of fire? If we get caught spying on either of those armies, they're not going to give us any quarter. We have to be careful about this."

"Absolutely. I think we'll also need to figure out who they're in contact with on Earth. If they want to bring this war to Earth and try to take over, then they're going to need people down there who are willing to go along with their scheme," I say.

Lily smiles at me, "That's actually a good idea. Then once we figure out who is we can add miniature screens to one of our walls to keep track of them."

Regulus pulls out a roll of parchment and a quill. I almost ask him where he was keeping them and why he has them, but then decide that I probably do not want to know. The black haired man starts scribbling away as we give our ideas as to what we need to do and possible ways to getting it done.

"And we need to get some people on Earth to start getting into fighting shape," Lily says, "We're not going to be able to fight on Earth, not reliably at any rate, so they're going to need to be able to protect themselves."

I nod, "Sirius and Remus definitely need to start. I want them to be able to keep Harry safe."

"Of course," Regulus says, "and, despite that you may disagree, Harry needs to start learning some defense as well. That way if he does run into trouble he can protect himself until either an adult can come or until he can get to an adult."

Lily frowns, but nods. She glances at the screen and then turns her full attention to it, "They're being sorted!"

I smile and notice that the sorting hat had just finished its song. A few people are called before anyone who we really know, or care about, is called.

**"Granger, Hermione."**

** The bushy brown haired girl practically flies up to the hat and places the object on her head. A few seconds later and she's muttering under her breath, too low and much too fast for anyone else to understand. **

** "GRYFFINDOR!"**

I smile and applaud. As does Lily and Regulus, though he's slightly less enthusiastic about it than Lily and me.

**"Longbottom, Neville."**

** Neville turns slightly pale and swallows. Harry gives him a pat on the back and whispered "good luck". Neville nods and walks up to the stool, only tripping once, and places the hat on his head. A moment or two into the sorting, the boy frowns and almost seems as if he's going to give in before clenching the chair a little harder.**

** "GRYFFINDOR!"**

"Whoo! Another lion!" I say, grinning. Lily is also smiling, but Regulus is frowning slightly. Not as though he's upset, but that he's thinking something over.

**"Potter, Harry."**

And of course a bunch of muttering breaks out as Harry walks up to the hat. I frown and hope this doesn't affect his confidence.

**Harry sits on the stool and almost immediately turns pale. He frowns and starts muttering under his breath. The hat, after a while almost seems to perk up and Harry stops frowning as much.**

** "GRYFFINDOR!"**

"YES! MY SON IS IN GRYFFINDOR! MY SON IS A GRYFFINDOR!" I shout, dancing around. I grab Lily and dance with her around the small room. Lily laughs at my antics before trying to get me to let her go.

"James, James! I'm going to be sick!" Lily says, still laughing.

I give her a kiss and let her sit back in her seat.

"They fought the hat," Regulus mutters. I turn to him and tilt my head, wondering where he's going with this. "All three of them fought the hat. I bet you anything that Granger was going to Ravenclaw and that Longbottom was a Hufflepuff. And then they fought the hat."

"What's that got to do with Harry?" I ask.

"The hat was going to put him in Slytherin. But Harry refused. He told it "Anywhere but Slytherin"," Regulus says. The lanky man stands and paces, muttering under his breath.

I turn to Lily, but she shrugs, "Sorry James, I don't know what he's thinking."

"I know, but I'm thinking over the thought of Harry in Slytherin. While I'm not ecstatic about it, I know that he probably would have done well there. Probably would have given the house a new reputation and that would have helped out the other Slytherins," I say.

Lily smiles, "James Potter, you surprise me. I thought that you would have been anti-Slytherin even in death."

I shrug, "Regulus is influencing me too much."

Lily laughs.

**"Weasley, Ronald."**

** The second to last first year manages to walk up to the sorting hat and put the bedraggled hat upon his head. The boy grins in relief at whatever the hat says.**

** "GRYFFINDOR!"**

"They're all Gryffindor?" Regulus asks, startled from his pacing.

I nod, "Yes, why?"

Regulus sits down and stares at the screen, "It's happening again. If all four of them become close friends, then it's happening again."

"What?" Lily and I ask.

"James, you were a Gryffindor, no questions asked, right?" Regulus says.

I blink at the random question but nod, "Right."

"Sirius was supposed to go to Slytherin, but fought to be in Gryffindor."

"He did?" Lily asks, "I always thought he was thrown into our house. Especially with as pale as he was that night."

"Shock. He couldn't believe that he'd actually gone against mother and father," Regulus says automatically, "Remus was supposed to be in Ravenclaw, but fought to be a Gryffindor. Pettigrew was supposed to be a Hufflepuff, but fought to be in Gryffindor as well. It's all happening over again."

"What?" Lily and I ask again, this time a little more forceful.

Regulus huffs and frowns at us, "Patience. In the 1400s, there was a prophecy made about four people who would have the ability to save the world. They would not be related through blood, but rather through a friendship so deep that it went beyond all other bonds. The four people would be able to represent all four houses of Hogwarts, yet would hale from the same one. This prophecy has only had one other time to come true, and that was with the Marauders."

Lily's eyes narrow, but I feel my heart drop. I swallow before asking, "Is that what the entire prophecy is about?"

Regulus shakes his head, "No, but I don't know the rest. The last part was lost and no one ever kept another record of it. That's why the Unspeakables keep more than one copy on hand from now on, so that they can have the whole thing."

"Can't we look in the Hall of Prophecies? Surely they have the whole thing on record?" I ask.

"And risk going to Azkaban again? Or worse and risk being caught by one of the armies?" Regulus asks, "No. It's too risky."

I frown as Regulus and Lily begin discussing more of how we're going to gather the information that we need. Something tells me that we really should hear the rest of that prophecy, and I don't like the thought of not knowing.

**Regulus's POV**

I can feel my mind still reeling from finding out that my old obsession has a chance of being fulfilled once again. I only became obsessed with this prophecy after one of Sirius's letters, one of the last ones he wrote to me, mentioned that he wasn't the only non-Gryffindor Gryffindor. He mentioned that it was odd how the Marauders, though they weren't called that at the time, should have been in separate houses.

"If only we knew the other half of the prophecy," I mutter before collapsing onto my "bed". We moved again. Ravenclaws forces were close to finding us and we'd needed to move. Luckily we had received advanced warning and had left. I frown before opening a small window on the floor and falling through it.

Automatically, I brush my clothes off and walk toward where I know Sirius and Remus are. They've cleaned up the Shrieking Shack rather nicely. I sit at the table and listen to their conversation.

"Sirius, I think you need to start getting more sleep," Remus says, his right eyebrow cocked.

Sirius glares at Remus, "Moony, I mean it! Something is causing the darker spirits and magic to be restless. It's been happening for a while now and I'm starting to become weary of how much it's happening. They were never this restless, not at Potter Manor."

"Are you sure that it's not just that you're around more people and Hogwarts?" Remus asks, "Maybe that's effecting you. It's been a while since you've been around a bunch of people."

Sirius slams his hand on the table, "Remus, I know the difference! I mean it when I tell you that something bad is going on. Something is happening and we don't know what it is."

I concentrate and make myself visible, but see through, "Sirius is right you know."

"Merlin Regulus!" Remus says, grabbing the counter behind him, "Scare the pants right off me why don't you?"

I smirk, "I just did."

The werewolf glares at me, and I know that if he could hit me that he would have.

"Reg, what's going on with your side of things?" Sirius asks. His voice is low, and I can tell that he's worried.

"Not good. Slytherin and Gryffindor have begun fighting. Ravenclaw has joined the fray and it's only a matter of time until Hufflepuff does as well," I rub the back of my neck, "Honestly, I don't know how long we'll be able to keep this in the Netherworld. The war is going to end in up on Earth, but I don't know when and I don't know how. You need to start preparing now."

Sirius nods, "That's what I'm trying to get Remus to understand."

"I think I believe you a little more now," Remus mutters.

"Believe it or not," I say, "you've got to start training yourselves and Harry when you can. Sirius, I know you don't like it, but you're going to have to train in-"

"I know."

I blink and realise that he's being serious and not just trying to get me to shut up. Sirius's eyes are stormy and have a look of resignation to them. I know he hates the Dark Arts, partially because of our parents and partially because of himself. I place a hand on his shoulder. Our eyes meet and I see everything that he's thinking and give a small smile. He smirks and nods.

"Well, as much as I would love to stay, I only have limited time right now," I say, standing, "I promise you that we'll be popping in from time to time to give you information though."

Sirius and Remus nod.

"And Reg," Sirius says, "Stay safe. All of you."

I nod once and leave through the portal I'd made, closing it once I'm back in the netherworld. Lily walks in with some rolls of parchment and sets them next to me.

"Here are the people you need to look into," she says, "I've collected all the information that we have on them and written it down. Anything that is exceedingly interesting or needed is underlined in blue. Everything else is just additional information."

"Good work. Thank you," I say, grabbing one of the parchments and unrolling it.

"You're welcome. James has already gone off to look into some families and to try and find the Ravenclaw base camp. If we know where they are then maybe we can avoid them," Lily frowns, "He better not get caught. At any rate, I have to get started on investigating my own people. Be back here in five hours, got it Black?"

I grin, "Of course, five hours."

She leaves and I quickly read over the information that I'd been given. I randomly pick a family then leave to do a little espionage.

_**AN/ Hello all! Happy New Year! Sorry for the wait, but better late than never, right?**_


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